Born in 1923 to Hungarian parents in Dicsöszentmárton (now Târnarveni) in Transylvania, Romania, Ligeti survived the Nazi occupation, although his family did not. He fled Budapest in 1956 and eventually became an Austrian citizen. His musical influences were members the European avant-garde of the 1960's: Stockhausen, Eimert, and Koenig. Excerpts of three of his scores reached mass audiences via the soundtrack recording of the Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey.